


What Could it Mean?

by The Author (Yours_The_Author)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Handplates (Undertale), Cryptic Phrases, Emmibee x Gaster, F/M, Gen, OBMP AU, Off Brand Mercyplates AU, Panic Attack-like symptoms, References to AU Canon, Temmie Village (Undertale), Waterfall (Undertale), emster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26601001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yours_The_Author/pseuds/The%20Author
Summary: Emmibee and Gaster make a brief stop in Temmie Village so Gaster can sell some items and Emmi can meet the Temmies. Someone else is in the village, though, and they have a message for Emmi...
Relationships: Temmie & Original Female Character, W. D. Gaster/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	What Could it Mean?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EmmiBee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmiBee/gifts).



> FIRST AND FOREMOST:  
> UNDERTALE BELONGS TO TOBY FOX  
> THE HANDPLATES AU BELONGS TO ZARLA (zarla - s . tumblr . com)  
> OBMP (OFF BRAND MERCY PLATES) BELONGS TO EMMIBEE (emmibeestuff . carrd . co) (offbrandmercyplates . tumblr . com)  
> REMOVE SPACES TO GET THE WEB ADDRESSES!  
> THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING GOOD CREATORS!  
> -  
> So Ms. Emmibee's birthday was the other day, so I decided to write her a gift! She liked it and gave me permission to post it to my sites, so that's what this is! The focus here is less on Emmi and Gaster's relationship and more like a sort of peek into Emmibee's character when she's placed in a certain scenario. There are some hints to Emmi and Gaster's eventual relationship, but it's definitely not the focus.  
> Also, you may want to actually read Ms. Emmibee's comic (and not just because it's really cool), but because one of the characters knows something, but I don't specifically state what it is. Reading the comic will let you know what this character means. Anyway, enough of all that. See you at the bottom of the page.

"Emmi, I kindly ask—and by 'kindly', I mean 'in a way that won't cause a scene'—that you stop vibrating so intensely."

"But it's _Temmie Village,_ Dr. Gaster! I can't _not_ be excited!"

"The Temmies are excitable enough without you encouraging them. I'd rather not deal with any more hyperactivity than necessary."

"Hyperactive or actively hyper?"

"…What?"

"What?"

"…Strange woman."

"I know. But isn't that why you like me?"

"No more questions. Let's just—"

"HOI!" Dr. Gaster sighed for ten whole seconds as Emmibee gasped at her first in-person look at a Temmie. She bounced on the toes of her rubber rain boots as the little monster skipped over to them.

She was just as cute as she was in the game, but even smaller; probably no bigger than a munchkin cat. Her quadrupedal body was covered in short, soft white fur, two pairs of ears, a little mane of black hair, and a deep sky-blue shirt over the top half of her body.

Smiling giddily, Emmi pointed at her while grinning at the skeleton companion. "Undoubtedly, a Temmie."

"Undoubtedly," Dr. Gaster agreed. "Can we please—"

"HOI!" Another Temmie popped up.

"Behold, a Temmie," Emmi bowed to the newcomer.

"I am aware. Can we—"

Another Temmie trotted over. "Could it be a Temmie?" Emmi wondered.

"Actually, I'm Bob. Nice to meet you," Bob said. Emmi let out a high-pitched noise.

Dr. Gaster sighed again. "I'm going to the Tem Shop. Can I trust you won't leave the village?" Emmi was currently chanting "hoi" with the growing group of Temmies. "…I suppose I can." He made his way to the shop.

One of the Temmies suddenly wiggled her tail the way a cat does before it pounces and leapt up into Emmi's arms. Emmi extended her arms to catch the Temmie, but a thought suddenly occurred to her: _aren't humans allergic to Temmies?_ The Temmie landed in her arms, and she instinctively adjusted herself for maximum comfort for the carrier and the carry-ee. _Oh wait; I'm a monster now,_ she remembered. _Does that still count?_ The Temmie she was holding vibrated gently in her arms, and the other Temmies and Bob crowded around her feet, looking a few seconds away from swarming her in a pile of cute. _Guess it does._

As much as she would have loved to be swarmed in a pile of cute, Emmi didn't know when she'd get a chance to explore Temmie Village like this again. Carefully wading through the tiny monsters, she began to look around the small cavern.

True to the game, the walls, ceiling, and floor were made of dark blue stone, but unlike the game, the air was cool and damp and seemed to somehow cast a shiny quality to the stone, if she looked at just the right angle and level of light. There wasn't any quirky music playing in the background, but the air thrummed—no, vibrated—with an energy that could only be explained by the mysterious power of Temmie.

She took some time to say HOI to each Temmie she passed, admired the rich history of Tem and the statue of Tem, returned the compliments of an adamant Temmie (awawawa! bee lady… such a… cute!) and exchanged parenting tips with the parent of a special hardboiled egg (tem and bee… pROUD pARENTS!). Emmi considered saying hello to the owner of the Tem Shop, but one peek into the room revealed an irate Dr. Gaster trying to explain why he wouldn't accept Tem flakes in exchange for all of the items he was selling. It would probably be best to leave him be.

That was when she spotted it: the dancing mushroom, swaying their arms to an invisible tune. Hugging the Temmie she was still holding tighter to her chest, she strode up to the mushroom, swaying her hips and bopping her head to the beat. She giggled and sang with them, "Mushroom dance, mushroom dance… what could it mean?"

The mushroom raised their cap to peer up at her, eyes narrow. "Failure is terrifying," they said, "but not nearly as terrifying as success."

The world suddenly stopped; not like a record scratch. It was more like if the planet had stopped spinning, but everyone wasn't flung off into space. All of the cold and none of the water in the room seemed to cling to Emmi, getting under her raincoat, under her skin, coating her SOUL in an icy sheet. Her breath caught in her throat, her vision tunneled, and there was an intense feeling of being watched…

"Emmi?" The mushroom lowered their cap and went back to swaying. The Temmie in her arms hopped down, her face following a moment after. Emmi looked up to see Dr. Gaster putting something into the pocket of his lab coat and gesturing for her to follow him. "Time to go."

Emmi's legs felt a bit weird, like they had almost but not quite fallen asleep, and they were trying to remember how to work. The cold feeling lingered, though not as strongly as it had before Dr. Gaster brought her back to reality. She stumbled backwards, trying not to fall over as she stared at the mushroom again. They weren't looking at her, preoccupied with their dance. The sudden shift in the mood had left her disoriented and a bit overwhelmed. What that mushroom said… it was _way_ too on the nose for her liking. Had it not been for Dr. Gaster, she would have stood there for the rest of time as she tried to make sense of _how that mushroom knew…_

She would be grateful to the doctor for saving her from herself, even if he never found out.

"Coming…" she replied, taking one last look at the mushroom before steadily following Dr. Gaster out of Temmie Village.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Emmi. How did that mushroom know? You'd think only Flowey would know about her... maybe it's a plant system thing. Mushrooms are considered nature's internet in some circles.  
> -  
> "Hyperactive or actively hyper" was a play on the joke "working hard or hardly working". I was originally going to put a fourth wall breaking joke in that part of the story, but it occurred to me that Dr. Gaster wouldn't let that go so easily.  
> -  
> Emmi identifying the Temmies (hey, that rhymed!) is a reference to the snow poffs of Snowdin. You all probably already know this, but interacting with every snow poff will tell you that, indeed, you are interacting with a snow poff.  
> -  
> Temmies have a rich history. What is that history? It's rich. That's all you need to know, and all you'll ever find out, probably.  
> -  
> Emmi is going to be a parent sometime soon (skelebaby boys!), so it'd be a good idea to get parenting tips from an experienced parent, even if that parent's child is a hardboiled egg. Every bit helps!  
> -  
> The scene with the mushroom is what really inspired me to write this. Visually, the shading in that penultimate panel was stunning. I wanted to translate what it looked like Emmibee was feeling into words. What did she see? What did she feel, physically and emotionally? These are questions I have to know the answers to as an author, and if they're not written already, I'll write down my own interpretations.  
> -  
> Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN TO EMMIBEE! let's hope this year is a good one. I'll be seeing you all later. Until then!


End file.
